Video-based learning plays an increasingly important role and thus the optimal design of video-based learning materials attracts the attention of scientists and practitioners alike. In this context, producers of educational videos often include a talking head in their videos, although theory (e.g., cognitive theory of multimedia learning) also suggests potential disadvantages for this format. Since talking heads attract a lot of visual attention, further empirical research is necessary to investigate whether a talking head can hinder learning, especially presented next to graphic-based learning content. To address this research gap, we conducted two online experiments to investigate the effects of a talking head in educational videos with narrated slides (short slideshow lectures) on learning outcomes (i.e., factual knowledge acquisition) and participants’ subjective ratings of the learning material (e.g., perceived learning). In Experiment1 ( = 96), we varied whether the instructor’s talking head was present or absent in the videos as a between-factor, and whether the visual content on the slides was graphic-based (pictures, diagrams, maps) or text-based (bullet points) as a within-factor (slide type). In Experiment2 ( = 184), we additionally varied as a between-factor whether the contents appeared sequentially or statically all at once (presentation type). Our results showed that the talking head did not affect learning outcomes, regardless of slide type and presentation type of the videos suggesting that the inclusion of a talking head offers neither clear advantages nor disadvantages. Potential explanations for the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

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具有不同类型解说幻灯片的教育视频中的人物头像会产生什么效果？

视频学习发挥着越来越重要的作用，视频学习材料的优化设计吸引了科学家和实践者的关注。在这种情况下，教育视频的制作者通常在他们的视频中包含一个会说话的头像，尽管理论（例如多媒体学习的认知理论）也表明了这种格式的潜在缺点。由于会说话的头像吸引了大量的视觉注意力，因此有必要进行进一步的实证研究来调查会说话的头像是否会妨碍学习，尤其是在基于图形的学习内容旁边。为了解决这一研究空白，我们进行了两项在线实验，以调查带有叙述幻灯片（简短幻灯片讲座）的教育视频中的说话者对学习成果（即事实知识获取）和参与者对学习材料的主观评分的影响（例如，感知学习）。在实验 1 ( = 96) 中，我们改变了视频中教师说话的头像是否存在作为中间因素，以及幻灯片上的视觉内容是基于图形（图片、图表、地图）还是基于文本（要点）作为内部因素（幻灯片类型）。在实验 2 ( = 184) 中，我们还改变了内容是否按顺序出现或静态同时出现（呈现类型）作为中间因素。我们的结果表明，无论视频的幻灯片类型和演示类型如何，说话的头像都不会影响学习结果，这表明包含说话的头像既没有明显的优点也没有明显的缺点。讨论了对研究结果的潜在解释和未来研究的方向。